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Clearing out clutter is an ever popular New Year resolution. And after the wave of new toys and clothes from Father
Christmas, the children's bedroom or playroom is a great place to start. Just follow our storage and de-cluttering
guidelines. Afterwards, you'll feel far calmer and your children will enjoy the delights of long forgotten toys that
emerge from the bottom of the toy box.
Hold a toy amnesty
This is a task best done without children. You can be certain that no matter how long it's been since your child
touched a toy, the minute it goes onto the charity pile, a loud objection will be raised. So do this when they're
not around - it will go a lot faster.
Gather all the toys together in one place. And start sorting. Create piles of:
- Broken and unrepairable: Throw out the things that are broken - don't be sentimental about it. If you can
recycle them, do. Find out whether your local recycling centre takes toys.
- Repairable: Think about the things that need to be repaired. How much time is it going to take to fix it? A
simple battery change will give an old toy a whole new lease of life, but are you really likely to glue something
back together? If not, throw them out. Find bits that go together to make them whole again.
- Outgrown but still good: If they've been outgrown but are still good toys, find a new home for them either
by giving them to friends, or taking them to your local charity shop, doctor's rooms or children's hospital.
- Still good but used less regularly: These toys might be played with more regularly if they had all the component
parts in one place. Many of the toys you think are no longer of interest, might become favourites but they're
simply lacking new batteries or don't have all the parts needed to make them work.
- Favourites: Whatever you do, don't get rid of these without permission or expect a meltdown!
Savvy storing
Now that you have the toys you're going to keep, think about how to store them. Toys last longer when
they're stored gently and not stacked or jumbled on top of each other. Children can also find things more
easily when they're stored properly.
- Consider investing in a large toy storage unit that
has several different tubs for different toy types and which are easy to see into.
- Group toys together in categories and label the tubs (with pictures if your children can't yet read). For
example, put all the action men and accessories into a tub, barbie or other small dolls into another, puzzles
and games together, arts & crafts in another, trains, car and tracks in one, electronic items with attachments
together etc.
- For puzzles, use a felt tipped pen and dot the back of each piece, using a different colour marker per puzzle. This
will help you sort through them more quickly. Keep puzzles and other toys with lots of component parts in clear,
self sealing plastic bags and then store in the labelled tub.
- For large bulky toys liked stuffed teddies or dolls or even balls for the football fanatic, consider using a
teddy tidy hammock. They'll
be easy to access and easy to clear away.
- Get either a traditional book shelf or
a space saving slim book shelf for easier storage of
books that will have the kids wanting to read more. When books are stacked on top of each other, the ones at the bottom get
ignored. Keep library books stored in a separate bag or section of the bookshelf to ensure they don't get muddled up
with your own.
- Rotate toys. Keep a selection of toys in the loft or shed and every few months, rotate them with existing toys. Your
kids will feel like it's Christmas all over again. Don't be tempted to keep too many out at once. Rather have fewer
out at any one time and rotate more frequently.
- Install shelves for
precious keepsakes or pieces of art your children have made.
Clothing cutbacks
Children outgrow clothes incredibly fast. When your child is under the age of one, you need to go through their wardrobe every
three months to remove clothes that no longer fit and add in new larger size gear. One year plus, you can cut it back to every
six months, particularly with seasonal shifts. It can be a sentimental experience getting rid of ‘little' clothes as you
realise your baby is growing up. But unless you have very big wardrobes, it's a job that needs to be done regularly.
- If you plan on having another child, it's a good idea to clean and fold the clothes to be saved and store them in
vacuum-sealed storage bags. This
will cut down dramatically on storage space and will keep the clothes free from moths and mould.
- If you're not planning any more children, sort through old clothes and either sell good quality items, give them
to friends or donate them to charity. Recycle the rest.
- Consider using under bed storage bags or
boxes on rollers for seasonal clothing or sports kit.
- Double up the size of your child's wardrobe by adding an extra hanging rail or
additional shelf space with hangable storage cubes.
- Use a clear, plastic pocket shoe-organizer bag inside their wardrobe door to store not only shoes, but socks, belts, small toys, hair bows, etc.
- Add coat hooks at child level for dressing gowns, caps, coats and bulky jumpers. It's easiest if they are placed close to the main entrance of
the house. Get your kids into the habit of hanging up their things the minute they get in – it will save you hours of picking up and hunting for
them when needed.
- If their bedroom or playroom has the space, consider getting a freestanding clothes rail for
dress up clothing. Seeing the outfits on display instead of stashed away will encourage them to dress up more regularly, increasing imaginary play.
Getting the kids involved
It can be fairly heartbreaking to spend hours sorting through toys and clothes, only to have them mixed up in minutes. So get your
kids involved (after you've gone through their toys!)
- Set up some playroom ground rules. Preschoolers can be taught to put away a toy they've tired of before taking out a new one.
- Have designated toy cleanup times. For example, before lunch, before dinner, and half an hour before bed. Make it fun by
letting kids take turns ringing a bell announcing cleanup time.
- Get the kids to help make the labels for the boxes by looking through old toy catalogues and finding pictures that accurately
match the contents of a toy tub. Show them what goes in each tub and make a game of guessing which toy goes in which tub.
- Designate a corner or out-of-the-way area where your child can keep creative activities such as art projects, model airplanes,
and jigsaw puzzles going until finished.
- As children get older, once a year before Christmas, ask them to go through their toys and take out the things they no longer
play with and would be happy to give to less fortunate children. It will teach them about giving and will cut down on clutter.
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